Nebraska delivers old-school beat-down

It’s nice to know that in this crazy, mixed-up world, some things haven’t changed much.

Nebraska’s 21-3 win was an old-school beat down, the kind routinely administered by the Huskers for nearly three decades.

Forget that new-fangled West Coast offense. This was run-it-down-your-throat, smash-mouth football. Nebraska rushed for 158 yards in the first half and attempted just eight passes. Somewhere, Tom Osborne is smiling.

Nebraska running back Cody Glenn said it best: “We’re Nebraska, and we want to run the ball.”

Meanwhile, K-State’s leading rusher was wide receiver Daniel Gonzalez, who gained 38 yards on a fake punt. Here’s a tip: when your leading rusher is a wide receiver, things aren’t going well.

No one else even thought about gaining 38 yards. Heck, Leon Patton had minus-7 yards through three quarters.

Basically, K-State’s rushing attack breaks down like this:

Fake punt: 38 yards.

Everything else: minus-16 yards.

Speaking of the fake punt, let’s just say coach Ron Prince set a dangerous precedent here. Attempting a fake punt at your own 9-yard line is about as bold and daring as it gets. It’s like when Evel Knievel lights himself on fire and jumps over 27 cars on his motorcycle. How do you top that?

Anyway, the fake punt was about the only bright spot for K-State. Josh Freeman threw for 272 yards, but he also was sacked four times, threw two interceptions and failed to get K-State into the end zone.

After the game, Nebraska coach Bill Callahan talked about how proud he was to be part of the 800th win in Nebraska’s storied football history. He didn’t mention how many of those wins came against K-State, but it seems like about 700 of them.

Meanwhile, Prince said he understands the history and tradition of this rivalry.

“I can understand exactly why this one is important to everyone involved,” Prince said. “I understand the history of what’s happened here.”

That just goes to show that even those who understand history are sometimes destined to repeat it.

Austin Meek is a senior in public relations. Please send comments to [email protected]

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